Emily Rose
by KateCarter
Summary: AU, TenRose. Emily Rose Thompson was a normal American girl; until she died, that is. Now Emily is discovering that there is far more to life, death, and the universe than she ever imagined. The first in a series of stories.
1. Appearances And Other Variables

Emily Rose

Chapter One: Appearances and Other Variables

By Kate Carter

Disclaimer: If "Doctor Who" was mine, my cell phone would have Bluetooth. As it is, it is not, and it does not.

A/N: I suppose an apology is in order to all of those who have been watching this story. I just wasn't happy with it. Eventually I concluded that I could leave it unfinished (no), come up with a lame way to finish it (heck no) or rewrite it. As you can see, I chose to rewrite it. And I'm pretty pleased with the result!

My name is Emily Rose Thompson. I'm nineteen years old, and I've spent my entire life in San Francisco, California, just your normal American girl.

Until I died three days ago, that is.

I don't really know how to explain it. I guess I should start at the beginning.

When I was two days old, I was left at a hospital in a car seat. There was a small note left with me; "Her name is Emily Rose. She's two days old. We wanted to keep her, so badly, but it's just not safe. Let her know we loved her." The only other clue I had was the blanket I had been wrapped in. It was made of some sort of strange material; soft and light, but incredibly warm, a rainbow riot of colors that changed as the blanket shifted, constructed of a tightly knit yarn that felt like a cross between chenille and silk. No one had ever seen anything like it. Still haven't, actually, since I still have it.

I was adopted fairly quickly, and my parents have really been terrific. Dad owns a computer consulting firm, Mom works as the editor of a small newspaper. They always made time for me and my younger sister, Elizabeth, who's also adopted. They really couldn't have been better parents to us.

At the same time, though, I was always…different. Not necessarily bad-different, just, different. When I went into kindergarten, I was reading chapter books. The teacher had me tutoring other kids in the class. At five. When I was nine, I won the local geography bee - against eighth graders. Of course, I did horribly at the state geography bee, but that was because being up in front of so many people scared me so badly I almost passed out. And I was eventually banned from competing in the school science and history fairs; people thought I must have been cheating, after I won first prize three years running. All right, I wasn't officially banned, but when they "happen" to come up with a rule stating that no participant can receive a prize more than three years in a row…

Anyway, I've always been smart. And, I know, it's kind of weird, but…I've always been kind of psychic too. I knew that Michelle Tanner, who was a junior when I was a freshman, had scored a 30 on her ACT – before she did. And I knew that my dad was going to have a car accident. I was just thankful he didn't die, because I should have warned him. But I didn't even believe it myself.

So, why did I die? Well, it's not so simple as I know what's going to be happening next. That would be nice. It's more like…possibilities. Option A might happen. Option B will probably happen. Option C is slim. Option D is a one-in-a-thousand chance.

Unfortunately, this time it was option D. And option D involved a bridge, my car, a drunk driver, and gravity.

Luckily (I guess) it was a dry gully and there was a gas station nearby. An employee at the gas station called an ambulance. I vaguely remember the firefighters and paramedics extracting me from the car, one of them telling me I'd be all right and it was a good thing I wore my seatbelt, and me trying to tell him that no, I wouldn't be all right, because option D had happened, and it was clear to me what was going to happen; I was going to die.

I was drifting in and out of consciousness as the ambulance raced to the hospital. And as I slid towards oblivion, one of the last things I remembered was somebody – a woman - holding my hand and talking to me.

"Emily? Come on Emily, wake up. My name is Dr. Holloway. It's going to be all right."


	2. Appearances And Other Variables, Part 2

Emily Rose

Chapter 2: Appearance and Other Variables, Part 2

By Kate Carter

Grace Holloway stood in the triage room, empty of all but the body of the girl who had been brought in earlier that night. She smoothed back the girl's light brown hair and carefully drew the washrag over the cold skin. Her parents were being contacted, but when they came here, she didn't want them to find their daughter looking like this.

Grace was a professional. As a doctor, you weren't supposed to let your emotions get in the way. And eight years ago, if a patient died under her care, she would practically run out of room. She hated death, refused to accept it.

She still hated it. But she had learned that for most people, death was a natural part of life. Even so, when someone as young as this girl – she looked like she was barely old enough to have a driver's license – died, she couldn't help but get a little emotional.

Chang Lee softly opened the door and put his head in the room. "Grace, they've contacted the parents. They should be here in a little bit."

Grace nodded at him. "Thanks," she said quietly, washing the dried blood off the girl's collarbone. She was really quite proud of Lee. After the events on New Year's Eve 2000, he had gone on to college, and was now in medical school. He was one of the many students running around the hospital.

He softly shut the door and she was alone with the girl again. They'd found her driver's license; this had been Emily Rose Thompson. Nineteen years old.

She began working on her arm, but dropped it in shock as it suddenly grew warm. Bright green light suddenly seemed to stream from the girl's body. As Grace stared in shock, the girl's body changed. Light brown hair that had been twisted into the scattered remnants of a long French braid was suddenly dark brown and shoulder-length. She seemed to grow several inches. Fat seemed to redistribute, and her slim, athletic figure became a very definite woman's body.

And then she sat up.

As Grace stared in shock, the girl blinked in confusion a few times. She looked at her hands and arms, felt her hair, looked at her legs before swinging them experimentally off the edge of the gurney a few times. Finally she spotted Grace. Big brown eyes stared into Grace's, the panic clearly written into them. The girl who had been dead only a moment before spoke, her voice apprehensive.

"What just happened?!"


	3. Pulling It All Together

Emily Rose

Chapter Three: Pulling It Together

By Kate Carter

The woman staring at me was so pale I'd thought she'd seen a ghost, and I couldn't blame her, because she very well could be. I'd died. I knew I died. As soon as my car had gone into that gully, I'd seen the future, and I'd died. I'd never been wrong before. What had happened?!

I stared at my body in disbelief. I was taller, somewhat rounder, and as my fingers brushed the tips of my hair, I realized my hair was a good eight inches shorter. And then I became aware of my chest. No, I don't mean that…I'd already noticed that I was…well, let's just say that certain items seemed to have almost doubled in size.

No, it was inside my chest. Have you ever felt your heart beat? Sometimes, if you're laying really still, and quiet, you can feel it…thump-thump-thump-thump. I didn't know what was going on, but I could feel mine, throughout my whole chest. Th-th-ump-ump-th-th-ump-ump. It felt like there were two hearts, one on each side of my chest.

I looked at the woman still staring in shock at me. She was about forty, reddish hair, wearing scrubs. Slowly, the shock began to dissipate, and a thoughtful look replaced it instead. She opened her mouth and then closed it. This repeated a couple of times. Finally she sighed.

"In the fifteen years since I graduated medical school, if there's one thing that I'd thought I'd learned, it was that people can't switch bodies and come back to life. But you, Emily Thompson, are the second person I've met who's decided to do so. Well, third, technically, but I never really saw the Master."

I chose to ignore the stuff about "the Master" and instead grabbed onto the "second person" bit. "Wait a second. You mean somebody else did this whole, freaky-weird-body-switching thing once?"

"Yes." The woman stared at me, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Have you ever heard of the Doctor?"

"The Doctor?" I was confused. "What doctor? I thought you were the doctor? Doctor who, by the way?"

The woman seemed slightly startled, like she'd forgotten. "Doctor Grace Holloway," she said, extending her hand. I shook it politely. "Right. And you obviously know me. So what just happened?"

Dr. Holloway bit her lip for a moment, thoughtful. "Well, you came in, you had obviously been in a very bad car wreck. Multiple fractures, chest trauma, head trauma, it was pretty bad. We tried what we could, but you'd barely been here for five minutes before your heart stopped. We worked you for a few minutes but the damage was just too much. So we left you in here while we contacted your parents. I was just cleaning your body up, so that they wouldn't have to see you like that, and suddenly you grew warm. I stepped back, and a green light seemed to come from your skin…and you changed, and then you woke up. And that's all I know," she concluded.

I digested this for a moment before nodding. "All right." I looked down at my clothes. Not only had they grown uncomfortably tight, they were covered in dirt and my blood. I shuddered. "Can I get something different to wear?" I asked.

"Oh! Yes, just a second, I've got a spare pair of scrubs I can grab you," Dr. Holloway said. She went out the door, then popped her head back in. "Don't go anywhere."

I gave her a wan smile. "Right," I said. As she left again, I continued. "Like I'm really going to be wandering around in bloody, dirty clothes that are two sizes too small."

I hopped off the edge of the bed and took a few experimental steps. My balance was definitely different. Things just seemed so…weird, and different. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I WAS IN A DIFFERENT BODY!!!!!

There was some sort of round mirror on a stand in a corner. I went and looked at myself in it. My hair was definitely a darker brown, and my eyes were a definite brown as well, no longer the hazel they had been. My face was rounder, more heart-shaped, not oval like it'd been before. And if you looked really hard, there was just the lightest scattering of freckles across my cheeks and nose.

Seeing myself now really brought it home for me. I walked back over to the gurney and sat on the edge. I couldn't help but start hyperventilating slightly. This was…insane. Weird. Wacko. Crazy, nuts, psycho, demented, cuckoo, berserk. One brick short of a load, one fry short of a Happy Meal.

As I went down this oh-so-pleasant train of thought, Dr. Holloway returned. She handed me a pair of blue scrubs and averted her eyes while I changed into them gratefully. I put my old clothes in the opaque sack she handed me and stuffed them into the trash.

"All right," I said. I felt much better now that I was in clothes that fit me, but I still wasn't sure of the whole situation. Then a thought struck me. "Wait a second. You didn't want my parents to see me like that. That must mean-"

My thought was interrupted by the door being slowly pushed open. A young Asian man stepped in, followed by an all-too-familiar middle aged couple.

_What am I going to tell Mom and Dad?! _


	4. Proof of Identity

Emily Rose

Chapter 4:

By Kate Carter

Grace looked at Chang, who had led the middle-aged couple in, and instantly realized who they were, something that was confirmed when she looked at Emily's suddenly pale face. Chang looked at the cot and Emily in confusion. _What happened to..._ he mouthed, pointing at the cot. Grace shook her head minutely._ Later, _she mouthed back.

The couple looked drawn and haggard, like it had been days instead of not even an hour since they'd received the phone call. _Of course,_ Grace reflected, _it was the worst phone call you could get. _He spoke, looking back and forth between Grace and Emily. "I'm sorry," the man said. "I guess this must be the wrong room. Our daughter was brought in earlier, she...she was in a car accident."

_Think fast! _Grace told herself. "Right, um, about that, I think there must have been a mistake," she started. She had no idea where she would have gone with that if Emily hadn't stopped her. "No, Dr. Holloway, I've got to tell them," she said softly. "They'd worry otherwise."

She approached them. The man was probably in his early forties, with dark brown hair that was going steel gray at the temples. The woman was around the same age, with fading blonde hair that was in a shoulder-length, layered cut. She bit her lip as she looked at them. "There's no easy way to tell you this," she began, "so I'll just come right out and say it. I'm Emily."

The woman's eyes began to fill with tears and the man grew visibly upset. "What sort of sick joke is that?" he snapped.

Emily shook her head. "It's no joke, Dad. Something happened to me. I died. And then I changed."

"That doesn't happen," he insisted. Grace stepped forward. "Mister...Thompson?" she asked questioningly, looking at Emily, who nodded her head in confirmation. "I'm Dr. Grace Holloway." She shook his hand; he was reluctant about it. "I was with Emily the entire time, and I assure you, it happened. I don't know how, but it did."

"What?!" He glanced between the two of them, anger and irritation obvious. "I'm going to sue this hospital for every penny," he growled. "This is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Dad," Emily said insistently, taking his hand. "It's me, Dad. Do you remember what happened when I was twelve?"

He glared at her, but didn't pull his hand away. "You tell me. What happened when Emily was twelve?"

"We were driving to visit Grandma up in Napa, and we were on the highway. I told you to brake. You were startled, so you did. Just a few seconds later, a truck came barreling over from the southbound lane. If we hadn't stopped, we would have all been killed. Remember that?" Emily asked softly. "And remember when I was eight, and I was riding in my first show, and you canceled that meeting with the company you wanted to buy out so that you could come watch me? And when I was five, and my puppy died, and you helped me bury it in the backyard, and you never told me that you'd bought a doghouse for her, you just left it up in the attic and I found it when I was ten and never told you."

For the first time, the woman spoke. "Emily!" she choked, throwing her arms around the girl's neck. Emily looked up at her father. His face softened. Confusion and joy took over where anger and sorrow had been. "Emily?" he asked in disbelief, reaching out and touching her cheek.

As best as she could manage from the grasp of her mother, Emily smiled. "Hi Dad," she said shyly.

He looked at her in disbelief for a moment, then hugged her. For a few minutes, the trio stood together, the parents rejoicing over the daughter they'd thought they'd lost. Finally, she gasped out, "Excuse me, I love you both, but I've already died once tonight, so do you mind?"

They released her, smiling through the tears that streamed down their faces. "What now?" her father asked.

Grace stepped forward. "Now," she said, "I think we need to find the Doctor."


	5. Finding The Doctor

Emily Rose

Chapter 5: Finding the Doctor

By Kate Carter

Disclaimer: In addition to not owning "Doctor Who," I do not own Google (although they have my full support when they finally succeed in taking over the Internet; I love my iGoogle and Gmail!), nor do I own the other two TV shows referenced below.

Kudos to horsemaniac on FFN for correctly recognizing my subtle tribute to "Stargate: SG-1" in Chapter 3. Nobody has picked up on a subtle mention of another show back in Chapter 1. Virtual TARDIS-shaped cookies to those who pick up the references to two more TV shows I love in this chapter.

I looked at Dr. Holloway in confusion. This was the second time she'd mentioned this "Doctor" fellow. "Dr. Holloway, who is the Doctor?" I asked curiously. She'd mentioned something before about him, and about other people doing this whole new-body trick too, but I'd just discovered that I wasn't dead, so I hadn't really paid much attention. Now, however, I had the feeling this could be important.

Dr. Holloway looked from me to my parents. "You should probably come with me," she said. She led us through the hospital corridors to an office and brought us in. Since it had her name by the door, I was pretty sure it was her office. "Sit down," she said, beckoning to a couch along the wall. I sat down, one parent on either side. They both kept shooting me nervous looks, but I guess there was something about me that reassured them I was, in fact, their daughter. Yeah…I'm totally not used to that.

Dr. Holloway sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. "This is going to sound a bit weird, but do you remember the atomic clock that was supposed to be started on New Year's 2000?"

Dad nodded. "Yes, actually, my wife and I were at the party. I own a computer consulting firm," he explained.

"Really?" Dr. Holloway said. "Well, you remember that the clock wasn't exactly a success, right?"

Dad snorted. "Yeah, I'd say. It destroyed the career of whats-his-name, the scientist behind it. He'd made such a big fuss over it being the next big thing."

"Yeah," Dr. Holloway said, nodding her head. "Well, it should have worked, but the Doctor took the beryllium chip that was the key component."

"Wait a second. Doctor who?" I asked.

Dr. Holloway shrugged. "He just said the Doctor. He had a British accent, he rode around in a blue box, it said 'Police' on the top and looked like a telephone booth, and it was bigger inside. He was an alien. He even had two hearts."

This last bit of information made me catch my breath. I could still feel the odd th-th-ump-ump happening in my chest. "Um," I squeaked. "I think I might know something about that."

Dr. Holloway grabbed a stethoscope and listened to my chest intently. After a moment, she nodded her head. "You've got two hearts," she said, looking at me in amazement.

"_I'm an alien!_" I cried. If you're adopted, chances are you've wondered about your birth parents at some point; who they are, why they gave you up, do they ever think about you. Sometimes I used to think that some famous movie star was one of my parents, and they abandoned me to avoid a scandal. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I consider the possibility that an alien was one of my parents.

"How is that possible?" my mother asked, confused. "You only had one heart before, I'm sure of it."

I looked at her pointedly. "Mom. When I woke up this morning, I looked entirely different," I pointed out. She wrinkled her nose up and nodded. "Good point."

"Well," said Dad, "I guess we're going to have to track down this Doctor, then. Do you know how?" he asked Dr. Holloway.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I've never seen him again since then. Although, with someone who can change his body, I guess I should say I've never knowingly seen him again since then," she added ruefully.

"Well, maybe we can hire someone to find him for us," Dad said. "What about that detective, the one who's always in the papers, that Monk guy? Or, I read an article about a psychic in Santa Barbara. Maybe we can hire him."

"Dad," I gave him a Look. "Let's not hire anyone. Not yet, anyway. They're going to think we're crazy if we hire them to look for an alien. Besides, you don't believe in psychics."

He peered at me as though he was examining me. "Yep, you definitely are my daughter, even though I woke up this morning believing that things like this couldn't happen."

It was my turn to sit back and mutter, "Point taken."

"Anyway," I continued, "this is my thing. My quest. I want to do it."

"How are you going to find him?" my mother asked.

To be honest, I didn't have a clue, but as I glanced around and saw the computer sitting on the desk, I figured it out. I slowly smiled. "The same way you'd find anyone else," I said. "I'm going to Google him."


	6. The Quest Begins

Emily Rose

Chapter 6: The Quest Begins

By Kate Carter

The Googling would have to wait, however. I was exhausted. My parents took me home and I climbed into bed and slept…for the next fifteen hours. After that, I felt refreshed and ready to go. Except that I didn't have any clothes.

I found some in my closet that had been too big for me previously, but fit me almost perfectly now. I made a mental note to tell Mom we needed to go shopping.

I sat down at the computer and tried to figure out what to search for. I tried several terms; "doctor alien," "doctor London alien," "doctor changes bodies London," but when I tried "doctor London blue box," I hit paydirt. I found this website, There were pictures of a man in a suit and a long trench coat, and, oddly, Converse sneakers, and another man, labeled as "the old Doctor" who was tall, with close-cropped brown hair and a leather jacket. He didn't look anything like the man Dr. Holloway had described…but how many other aliens named the Doctor with the ability to change their bodies run around the universe?! It hadn't been updated in about a year, but an old update said that it had been taken over by Mickey Smith. There was a phone number. I whipped out my cell phone and called it, wincing slightly as I pushed the "Call" button…my parents weren't going to like a lot of overseas calls, even though Dad had pulled me aside and told me to do whatever I needed. Unfortunately, there was a disconnected message…guess that one was a dead end.

I searched for another three hours without any luck. I studied the pictures I'd found carefully; if I did see anything about him, I wanted to be able to recognize him.

Finally I sighed and pushed back from the computer. My eyes were aching from staring so intently at it for so long. I wasn't sure what I'd do now. Normally, I'd be taking classes at USF, or working. But that was yesterday. Most of my professors wouldn't know the difference if a strange girl walked in and sat down, but my friends and my boss definitely would. So I decided I might as well go shopping.

Since my car was totaled, I asked my mom if I could borrow her car. She refused. Typical mother, she insisted on driving me herself.

Mom and I went to the mall first, and after I'd hit up all my favorite stores, the bank account was somewhat lighter and the bags on my arms were definitely heavier. But I had a very cute, brand new wardrobe. There may be some perks to this changing-body-thingamajig after all.

We were driving back home, and Mom realized she needed to stop by the grocery store. I went in with her, and while she grabbed the things she needed for dinner tonight, I browsed the magazine rack. Normally I love reading the more ridiculous tabloids; you know, the ones that say things like, "Bigfoot wins tennis competition," or "Demon from Hell frightens circus-goers (ringmaster says, 'It's not part of the act!')." But today, a headline caught my attention. It was just a little thing, in the corner, but there was the headline "Do you know this man?" and a picture I recognized in the circle next to it. It was the Doctor.

I clutched at the paper as though it would disappear. Frantically, I flipped through it until I found the article. A grainy picture of a large blue box, exactly like the one Dr. Holloway had described, with the Doctor opening its door, was at the top, along with a bright yellow headline screaming "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?" I read the article below it with interest.

"This man (above, on a picture from a security camera) has been reported in connection with every unusual event happening in Britain in the last two years. States Mrs. E, 68, of the Powell Estate, London; 'He was the one who was always hanging around here, over at the Tylers, before they were killed, although I don't know how, because Jackie never went over to Canary Wharf anyway.' The incident in question occurred nearly a year and a half ago, when metal robots attempted to take over London from the building One Canada Square, commonly known as 'Canary Wharf.' He has also been reported in connection with unusual events in Cardiff, and photographs from 1920s New York show a similar person in connection with some unusual events there. Indeed, all the unusual reports of alien invasion we've heard from England, commonly dismissed as hoaxes by such esteemed publications as this, all seem to share him as a common factor. It is known, however, that this man tends to appear in London every two to three months. We are looking for more information on this man; please inform us if you know anything about him!"

I was still clutching the article, reading it over and over again, when Mom came back.

"Emily, what are you doing? You know better than to read anything that says Elvis is alive, well, and living on the moon," Mom said, giving a disdainful glance at the cover story, which proclaimed this very fact.

Dazed, I pointed at the article. "It's the Doctor, Mom." I flapped it in her face, doing an excited jig in place. "He's in London! He's been there every few months!"

I stopped as the realization hit me. I looked at my mom with wide eyes. "Mom," I said slowly. "I have to go to London."


	7. London and Leads

Emily Rose

Chapter 7: London and Leads

By Kate Carter

"No," said my mother firmly. "For the last time, Emily. You can't just go running off to London on your own. You're only nineteen."

"Mom," I groaned. I turned and jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter, ignoring the disapproving look she was giving me. "I _died_, Mom. _Died_. And then I switched bodies, and now I have two hearts. And it just so happens I have the one doctor in all of San Francisco, and heck, probably the world, who's seen it before and can tell me who I need to find, and when I happen to get a very promising lead on him, you tell me I can't go because it's halfway around the world. I'm nineteen. People my age are getting married and having kids and joining the military. I can decide who I want to be president of the country, and yet my parents still won't let me go search for an alien in London."

"I lived in London," Mom insisted, putting the last few cans from the sack onto the shelf. "Emily, Frisco is nothing like London. It's a whole different place."

"Yeah, I know. You lived in London for six months when you were working as a journalism intern, and you wanted to get back to the States because you accidentally insulted the Prime Minister when you were trying to do the whole 'V for victory' thing. But Mom, I'm not going to meet the Prime Minister, and I'm trying to track down the only person, to my knowledge, in the entire universe, who can tell me why this happened." I looked at my mother earnestly. "Please Mom. I have to do this."

Mom sighed. "I still have a few contacts at the newspaper. Let me get in touch with them. There's a woman who was starting out there at the same time I was, she and I were good friends while I was there. She might be able to help you out."

The victory won, I headed upstairs to pack what clothes I had.

Three days and $1500 later, I was fighting my way through Heathrow Airport. I clutched my backpack tightly; it held all my truly important belongings, not that there were many. My few outfits, the article, the blanket and the note I'd been left with, and my passport. I'd been lucky, I was able to convince Customs that the passport picture was me, and that I'd just had a different haircut, colored my hair darker, and gotten colored contacts. They bought it pretty easily. Seriously, is that all you have to do to get into another country? Sheesh.

I fought my way to the Underground station and took it to the Earls Court station. This was the first time I'd been on a subway, and it was definitely an experience. I was lucky enough to find a seat and sat tightly clutching my pack the entire time. I had no idea how people did this on a regular basis. I was used to the streetcars in San Francisco, but the Underground gave me a slightly claustrophobic feeling.

All in all, I was grateful when I finally reached fresh air and the street outside the Earls Court station. As promised, my mom's friend was there waiting for me. I recognized her from the description I'd been given and went to introduce myself to her.

"Hello," I said, "I'm Emily Thompson."

"Yes, Emily, hello!" she said brightly. "I'm Sarah Jane Smith."

We walked to where she'd parked her car, and she asked me those standard questions - "did you have a nice flight," "what do you think of London so far," the nice, polite questions, you know? Eventually we made it to the car, and as she carefully navigated the streets, she said, "Your mother said you were looking to find somebody in London?"

"Yeah," I said, the thought sounding more and more ridiculous. How was I supposed to find someone in this city? It was huge. Between residents, and tourists, and who-knows-who-else, I'd be lucky to find my own way around. I decided to tell her anyway. Two people keeping an eye out is better than one, isn't it? "I'm looking for someone who tends to be here every few months. I know it sounds ridiculous, but he's got a blue box that will appear, and he's called the Doctor."

Sarah Jane hit the brake and I found myself thankful for the seatbelt. As cars honked behind us and people made their way around with rude shouts and ruder gestures, I looked at Sarah Jane's face. She was pale, and looking at me with wide eyes. "You're looking for the Doctor?" she asked in disbelief.

I stared at her. "You know him?" I asked cautiously. Oh, this was turning out to be too good. I was destined to find him. Things were falling into place.

"You could say that," Sarah Jane said. She slowly began to drive again, and the irritated honking and shouts abated. "I traveled with him for some time."

"You what?!" Now it was my turn to be shocked. Then I grew excited. "This is great," I said, practically bouncing in my seat. "You can help me get in touch with him!"

Sarah Jane shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. I've only seen him once since then, and that was by sheer coincidence. However," she said thoughtfully, "I might be able to give you the information of someone who could help."

A/N: I thought it was quite funny that the Underground station I randomly chose, Earls Court, is one I'm likely going to be visiting in a few weeks, as the hotel I'm staying in when I visit London is quite near to it! Yes, it's true; I will be visiting England and Ireland from March 22-31. It's part of my book tour, and I'm very excited about it!

OK, OK, so part of that was a total lie. It's not part of my book tour. Maybe someday though!


	8. When Companions Get Together

Emily Rose

Chapter 8: When Companions Get Together, Gossip Occurs

By Kate Carter 

A/N: I've never seen SJA, so it's a little short on detail...sorry!

When we made it to Sarah Jane's house, I was briefly introduced to her teenage son and his friends before they left for one of their houses. I was somewhat dazed and confused, and after the nearly twenty-hour flight, my body had just decided it was time to crash. Of course, I'd only slept three hours before I left...so, come to think of it, I'd only slept three hours in the last forty-eight. Huh.

It turned out to be all right, because Sarah Jane wasn't able to get a hold of whoever it was she was trying to find. I could vaguely hear her on the phone as I dozed where I was sitting on the couch. "She's in Cardiff? All right, thank you." And then the sound of dialing, followed by a long pause; I'd guess it was an answering machine or voicemail or something. "Hello, this is Sarah Jane Smith. I need you to call me as soon as possible. I've got a friend's daughter visiting me from America, and you need to meet her."

After this, I was too tired, and I couldn't resist falling asleep completely. I woke up four hours later, feeling refreshed. This was surprising – before, well, the accident, I'd been happy to sleep ten hours straight. For me to wake up after four hours and be fine? Well, I would have said impossible, but...

Sarah Jane was sitting in a chair, reading a book. She looked at me as I sat up from the couch and stretched. "Um, sorry," I said. "Jet lag."

She smiled. "That's all right," she said. "I should have someone coming by soon who you'll want to talk to."

"Great," I said. My stomach let out a loud growl as I said it. I blushed. "Sorry."

Sarah Jane smiled. "It's all right. Let me get you something to eat."

She was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. "Emily, would you mind getting that? It should be my friend," she called from the kitchen.

"Sure," I said. I walked over and opened the door.

A young black woman, a few years older than myself, was standing on the steps. She looked tired, and still had traces of what looked like a greenish - I'm not really sure whether to call it slime or goo. One of the two – on her clothing. Even so, she looked at me with interest. There was a bit of a hardness in her eyes though, and I got the impression of wariness. Something told me this woman had seen a lot more than most people.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Martha Jones," she said, extending her hand. I shook it. "Is Sarah Jane around?"

Before I could answer, Sarah Jane came up behind me. "Martha," she said warmly. "Come in, sit down, would you like some tea?"

Martha sighed as she sat carefully in a chair, mindful of what she had on her clothes. "Yes, please, that'd be wonderful. I was just helping Torchwood with a-" she glanced at me and stopped.

"Don't worry about the furniture, relax," ordered Sarah Jane, coming back in and giving Martha a cup of tea. She handed me a sandwich, and then went back to the kitchen. She came back out with two more cups of tea, one of which she handed me. I sipped it appreciatively. I always had enjoyed tea.

"So, I'm guessing this is who you wanted me to meet?" Martha said, nodding towards me. I liked that she got straight to the point.

"Yes," said Sarah Jane, glancing at me. "This is Emily Thompson. She- she's looking for the Doctor."

Martha lifted an eyebrow and looked at me. "That's interesting," she commented. "Why are you looking for the Doctor? And how do you even know who he is?"

I sighed. "Well, it started a week ago, when I was killed in a car crash," I began. I told Sarah Jane and Martha the whole story; how Dr. Holloway had seen me coming back to life, how she'd told me to find a man called the Doctor who traveled in a blue box, how I had found the tabloid article detailing the mysterious man connected with mysterious events in London, and how my mother had remembered her old friend, Sarah Jane Smith, who lived in London. As I said all of this, I became aware of the fact that I hadn't used a restroom in several hours. I hurried the conclusion of my story and excused myself.

As I shut the door, I was still able to hear Sarah Jane and Martha talk. Don't ask me how, I have no idea. But I could.

"She seems sincere enough about it," said Sarah Jane. "I've developed a rather good sense for when people are lying, and I don't think she is."

"I agree," said Martha. "But still, I'd like to take her to Cardiff with me tomorrow before I call him."

"Absolutely," said Sarah Jane. I could practically see her nodding her head in agreement. "He can take care of himself perfectly fine, but there's no point in tempting fate. We can do what we can to protect him. After all, he's already regenerated how many times?"

"Ten," Martha said ruefully. "But he's been averaging nearly a hundred years a regeneration, so I wouldn't feel too sorry for him."

"It certainly sounds like Emily regenerated," said Sarah Jane thoughtfully. Then, slowly..."I know he doesn't like to talk about his past companions, but do you think he and Rose...?"

Martha laughed bitterly. "Who knows. He never talked about Rose, except in that wistful way. He's very protective of her memory."

"Her middle name is Rose," said Sarah Jane softly.

"Is it?" said Martha, surprised. "It may be than," she said softly. "Maybe that's why..."

They were silent for a moment, and I chose to come back at this point. I tried to smile pleasantly as I sat down and began to drink my tea.

"Well, Sarah Jane, I'm exhausted. I'm going back to my flat," said Martha, rising. She looked at me. "I might be able to help you out in your search for the Doctor tomorrow," she said. "We'll need to go to Cardiff though. I'll be by to pick you up around eight."

"All right," I said cheerfully. "Sounds great."

Martha left. Sarah Jane and I sat silently for another few minutes. Finally she stood up.

"I should make dinner, Luke will be coming back soon," she said, excusing herself. I was alone.

I sat there for a moment and took in my surroundings, the first real chance I'd gotten. A picture caught my attention and I picked it up. It was a young woman standing with a man in front of a blue box, and I realized it must have been Sarah Jane and the Doctor.

"We took that in 2688," Sarah Jane said softly. I jumped and turned around. She came over and took it from me. "That was his third regeneration. He died from radiation poisoning three weeks later."

I looked at her closely. "You loved him, didn't you?" I asked, the realization dawning upon me.

She looked at me, her face quickly shuttering its emotion. "It was a long time ago," she said firmly. "Come on, Emily, you can help me with dinner."


	9. Hello, Cardiff

Emily Rose

Chapter 9: Hello, Cardiff

By Kate Carter

A/N: I apologize for any gaffes, I've only seen the first episode of "Torchwood"

I spent the night reading, which I found to be rather curious, but I just wasn't sleepy, for some reason. It was almost like the few hours of sleep I'd been getting every day were enough. I didn't understand it, but I hadn't understood most things lately, so I just ignored it.

Promptly at eight, Martha showed up to take me to Cardiff. I'd gotten onto the Internet and discovered that Cardiff was the capital of Wales, had been since 1955, was originally a Roman settlement, was the second largest media center in Britain, and, most strikingly to me, was the birthplace of Roald Dahl. Seriously. Roald Dahl. He only wrote some of my favorite books ever, like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "James and the Giant Peach," and "Matilda" (although the movie didn't do that one justice. But then, when do movies ever do a book justice? With the exception of "The Princess Diaries" but I liked that partially because they set it in San Francisco, and I was one of the extras. It rocked. Although the version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Johnny Depp was pretty good. Seriously, they took the song lyrics straight from the book! And I'm rambling, aren't I?). 

During the drive, we made a lot of small talk, and she told me a few details about the Doctor. Turned out she'd traveled with him too. It really didn't surprise me. She told me about meeting Shakespeare, of visiting New New York and old New York, and of being trapped in 1969. Her eyes darkened as she mentioned the Year That Never Was, and she didn't say much about it before changing the subject.

At that point, we'd finally made it to Cardiff, and after a few more minutes negotiating the streets (to Roald Dahl Plass, I was thrilled to notice), Martha found a place to park. She told me to follow her and took off down the street. I followed closely, so that I wouldn't lose her.

And then she vanished.

I stopped, confused and uncertain. All the sudden, the upper half of Martha reappeared. "Come on," she said, beckoning. I came obediently.

Suddenly, Martha was in front of me, whole again, and I gaped at her. "But what – why don't those people -" I stuttered, trying to form a coherent sentence. Martha smiled. "They don't notice it because they don't really want to notice it. And if any did, well, they just don't believe it," she explained. "After all, would you believe seeing someone vanish in front of you?"

I shook my head slightly, then rethought it. "Well, not up until last week," I said. At that point, the ground began to drop. "Whoa!" I clutched at Martha, but she only laughed and pointed downward. I stared in shock at the large underground cavern. I was on some sort of elevator riding down into it.

And then, WHOOSH! I stared in shock at the large creature that had just flown past me. "Pt-pt-pterodactyl!" I finally managed to get out.

At this point, we'd hit the bottom, and a man came towards us. He was probably in his early 40s, wearing a long navy blue coat, and, what I noticed most, he had an American accent. "Don't mind him, he likes to play games with people," the man said, giving a casual wave at the pterodactyl. He glanced me over. To be honest, it made me somewhat uncomfortable. "Why, hell-o," he said. I eyed him warily.

"Lay off, Jack," said Martha in a warning tone.

"I was just saying hello," the man – Jack – said in a mock-defensive voice. "Really, Martha, you're as bad as our mutual friend."

"Yes, well, he's the reason I'm here. Jack Harkness, meet Emily Rose Thompson," she said, stressing my middle name slightly. "She's looking for the Doctor."

"Really?" This time, Jack's gaze was more clinical. "And why is that?"

"Because she regenerated a week ago," Martha said flatly.

"What?!" Jack looked at me with interest. "How many hearts do you have?"

I looked at him, slightly confused. "Well, ever since last week, I've had two," I said.

"Ah." Jack looked at Martha. "I'm supposing you want to check out the new toy?"

"Yes, please, if you don't mind. I wanted to verify it before I called him," Martha said.

"Great. Right this way." Jack led us into a section set up like a small medical lab. "Have fun, I'll be in my office when you're done," he said. Martha pointed to the cot that was located in there. "Sit up on there," she ordered. I complied, thinking how coincidental it was that this was the second doctor I had helping me find the Doctor.

She scanned me with a very alien-looking device. She then looked at the computer screen with interest. I guess the results she was looking for popped up, because she finally nodded her head slightly and said to herself, "Thought so."

Then she turned to me. "Emily, the test I just ran confirmed it. You're part Time Lord."

"All right," I said warily, looking at her. "What's that mean?"

Martha sighed, and came and sat beside me. "To be honest, I don't know," she said. "To the best of my knowledge, there's only one Time Lord left in the universe, and that's the Doctor. I have a theory, but I'd rather not say anything."

"Does it have to do with this Rose person?" I asked.

Martha's eyebrow shot up. "How did you-?" she began.

"I overheard you and Sarah Jane talking. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," I apologized, feeling about five years old again. Martha smiled slightly.

"It might," she said. "It might explain a lot, actually. But I don't think I'm the one to tell you, if my theory's right. And if it's wrong, well, I'd just as soon forget about it." Martha sighed and stared off into space for a moment. "I think it's time for me to make a phone call," she said eventually.


	10. Reunion

Emily Rose

Chapter 10: Reunion

By Kate Carter

Martha had called Jack back over, and now the three of us were standing on the elevator, riding back to the surface. "So how come you came down the scenic route instead of Owen's not-so-secret pizza delivery entrance?" Jack asked conversationally.

"It's a bit more futuristic, a bit less 'deep, dark lair,' and I didn't want to scare Emily too bad," Martha said, grinning at me. There was a bit of strain in her face though, like this phone call was something she really didn't want to do.

We reached the surface and sat on a nearby bench. Martha pulled her cell phone out ("Jack, when are you going to put mobile reception down there?" she asked. Jack shrugged.). She flipped through the numbers until she finally found the one she wanted and called it. There was a pause, and then she sighed. "Answering machine," she whispered to Jack and me. Jack snorted.

"The man lives in a telephone booth, and he still can't bother to answer his phone?" he muttered softly. I stifled a laugh.

Martha began to speak. "Hello, Doctor, it's Martha, obviously, and it's the fifth of May, 2008. Could you please make a stop by Cardiff, say about," she glanced at her watch, "two o'clock? We really need to talk to you." She hung the phone up. "Should be here any time. Or not. You never know with him."

With that, a grinding, clanking sound began to fill the air. I glanced around in alarm, but Martha and Jack seemed to be only slightly surprised. "He's actually on time for once," Jack commented, and Martha grinned. "You'd think being a Time Lord would mean that he could actually be on time all the time, but no, that's too much to ask, apparently," she said in amusement.

The blue box I'd seen pictures of suddenly materialized down the sidewalk. After a moment, a tall, skinny man in a blue pin-striped suit stepped out, and I gasped.

It was like something flickered to life in my mind, and I could see a planet with orange skies and red grass, and trees of silver and huge, shining domed cities. And I saw a woman, about my age, with blond hair and a pretty face, laughing. And then I registered shock and surprise and dismay, and it was as though a door had been slammed into place.

I was still watching the man through all of this, the man that I now knew was the Doctor. I didn't know when I'd risen to my feet and began to approach him, but when we stopped we were only about three feet apart. He looked at me with big brown eyes, eyes that were so much older than the rest of him, eyes that were currently filled with shock.

When he spoke, only one word came out, in a low, broken tone.

"Emily!"


	11. Revelation

Emily Rose

Chapter 11: The Doctor's Daughter

By Kate Carter

A/N: This explains a bit, but not a lot (sorry!). Next chapter's going to be a long one though. I should be able to get it up Friday evening (look for it around 10 p.m. Central or so) but it may be delayed until Saturday.

Folks, over THIRTY people have this story on their story alert lists, which is AMAZING to me, but I'm only getting an average of five reviews a chapter. My muse feeds off of reviews, and she's practically starving! Please, help feed the hungry muses of Kate's mind; leave a review.

The Doctor and I continued to look at each other. While his face was carefully blank, his eyes showed his true feelings; pain, and loss, and desolation, and love, and joy. The silence stretched on for a moment until I broke it.

"Hello," I said softly.

And then the Doctor did something I hadn't expected. He stepped forward a bit and hugged me.

I initially stiffened up a bit in shock. And then I relaxed and I hugged him back. After a moment, he released me, and as he pulled back I could see the tears running down his face.

"So you've regenerated for the first time," he said softly. I looked at him in surprise. "I can hear both your hearts," he explained, the barest ghost of a smile flickering over his face. "Time Lords only grow their second heart after they've already regenerated once."

"So I'm a Time Lord?" I asked. Martha had already told me I was part Time Lord, but I wanted – no, needed – to hear confirmation from the Doctor.

He nodded, and a shadow of pain flickered over his face. "Well, a Time Lady, actually, but you're more than that; you're my daughter."

I heard a soft gasp from Martha and a softly muttered "Thought so," from Jack, but I ignored them. "And what about my mother?" I asked softly.

He closed his eyes briefly, and it looked for a moment like he'd been stabbed in the heart. "Her name was Rose," he said softly. "Is Rose. She's not dead, she's so, so alive, but I...I've lost her."

"Knew it!" Martha whispered behind me.

"Why?" I asked the Doctor softly. I could feel what I now knew to be his mind probing softly at mine, and I let him. _Why did you lose her? Why did you leave me? Why did I regenerate? _

He sighed. "Come into the TARDIS," he said, turning and walking into the box. I followed him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Martha and Jack turn and walk back to the invisible elevator.

I stepped into the box and looked about in interest. For some reason, I just wasn't really surprised that the inside was bigger than the outside. I felt a gentle touch on my mind, a whisper at the barest edge of my consciousness - "Welcome home, Emily Rose." Somehow I knew it was the box itself, the TARDIS.

I followed the Doctor – my father – through several corridors, until we wound up in a kitchen. The Doctor picked up a kettle of hot water and poured it into two cups, adding teabags and sugar. He handed one to me and sat down at the table. I sat down as well.

"So tell me about your life," the Doctor said. I was amazed; he was acting like things were perfectly ordinary and nothing extraordinary - like, say, his daughter that was abandoned at a hospital in San Francisco turning up – was happening.

So I told him. I told him of my life growing up in California, the wonderful people who had adopted me, and the things I had done as a child. I told him of my car accident the previous week and how I had known I was dying. I told him of how I'd woken up in a new body and panicked, and how the doctor there had told me of her experiences with a mysterious alien called the Doctor. I told him how I'd found a tabloid article about the mysterious man connected with events in London. I told him how my mom's old friend, Sarah Jane Smith, had helped me out, and introduced me to Martha Jones, who had taken me to Torchwood and Jack Harkness, and called him.

And when I had reached the end of my part of the story, I looked at him. "And what about you?" I asked.

A shadow passed over his face and he sat his tea down. "That's a long story," he said.

I sat back in the chair and folded my arms. "Time machine, right?" I said. "I've got time."


	12. Why

Emily Rose

Chapter 12: Why

By Kate Carter

A/N: I apologize for not getting this out earlier, but I've been so busy all weekend, and I've been in class or work ALL day today! As a result, however, this is an extra-long chapter with a nice big dash of shippiness...enjoy (and review)!

Warning; bit of light language in this chapter, really couldn't escape it, I'm afraid.

I'll admit, I really kind of felt sorry for the Doctor – my father (wow, how weird does that feel!). But I'd been waiting nineteen years for the reason my parents abandoned me. And one trait I'd always had was sheer stubbornness.

So I gazed at him steadily, blinking at the occasional intervals. He wasn't looking at me; he was staring off into space, a muscle twitching in his face every now and then, and once a tear slipping down his cheek. We must have sat like that for five minutes before he finally sighed and focused on me again.

"All right," he said, his voice seemingly bright and cheery again. I knew it was a front. "You've told me about yourself, it seems only fair I tell you about myself."

He tented his arms on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "So, I'm a Time Lord. Last of them, actually, except for you." A shadow passed over his face but he continued on. "I'm nine hundred and four years old. I was born on the planet Gallifrey."

"The orange skies, red grass, and silver trees, right?" I interrupted. He nodded. "That's right."

"Time Lords can regenerate twelve times, giving us thirteen lifetimes in all. This is my tenth body. When I was in my eighth body, there was a war." His eyes had become shaded, slightly unfocused, remembering the past. "It was between my people and our worst enemy, the Daleks." A picture popped into my head of a strange metal being...with a toilet plunger on front? Well, that hardly seemed terrifying. Maybe they were worse in real life. "The war was catastrophic. Eventually, my people decided we only had one option left." He closed his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them again, he was looking straight at me. "I was chosen to carry out the plan. I don't know if it was meant to happen that way, but," he laughed bitterly, "when it was over, I woke up in the middle of nothingness. I'd wiped out the Daleks, but my own people were gone too."

He sighed. "I'd always been adventurous, going out and visiting other planets, other times. Earth had always been a particular favorite of mine, probably because my mother was human. So I mucked around on Earth for a bit, had an accident and died. It was only three days later that I met Rose.

"I blew up the shop she worked at. Had to, no choice, there were quite a lot of manikins in it, they were being controlled by the Nestene Consciousness, big plastic alien. She was trapped by the shop dummies, and as she thought things had ended, I came round the corner, grabbed her hand, and told her to run."

He sighed again. "This would be much easier if I just showed you," he told me. I nodded. "All right," I whispered. He reached across the table and took one of my hands.

Instantly, I saw everything from the perspective of his memory. There was a blond girl, my age, staring in shock at him.

"_I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?"_

"_Rose," she answered._

"_Nice to meet you, Rose, run for your life!" I/he said, holding up some strange device. _

The scene flashed and changed.

"_I could save the world but lose you," I/he said, and the thought of losing her, this simple young human girl I/he'd only known a couple of weeks seemed like a knife to my/his soul. How had she come to mean so much to me/him? This girl/woman was staring at me/him, big hazel eyes showing a wisdom far beyond her years. She was a balm to my/his wounded spirit, I/he who had been so crippled by the war..._

Flash.

_I/He looked down at young Rose, six-month-old Rose, and smiled at her. She cooed appreciatively, big, long-lashed hazel eyes staring up at me/him in a look I/he recognized even in the Rose of nineteen years later. And the thought suddenly popped into my/his head; would our/their children look like Rose had? I/He dismissed it, shocked at it, and how inappropriate it was, and began to coo at her instead. "Now Rose, you're not going to bring about the end of the world, are you? Are you?"_

Flash.

_A surge of jealously dimmed my/his vision momentarily as Rose smiled at the conman we/they'd rescued. I/he interrupted the flirting that was happening (right in front of me/him!) and practically shouted. "Rose! I just remembered! I can dance! I can dance!" I/he began to dance a few steps, and the TARDIS helped by putting some swing music on. I/He danced towards her, and she was laughing, and we/they were dancing, and as she clung to me/him as the dance ended, I/he couldn't help giving Jack a smirk. This was my/his Rose, it very clearly said. _

Flash.

_She was beautiful and terrible, standing there as the gold streamed from her, and I/he felt the confusion of the Daleks, and I/he was so proud, but so fearful for her, for the heart of the TARDIS, the Time Vortex itself, was never meant to be handled by a human. And I/he realized what I/he must do, and it was something terrible and wonderful, the one thing I/he had longed to do, but for a reason far from the one I/he'd intended to do it with. But what reason could be better than saving the life of the woman I/he loved?_

Flash.

_She was staring at me/him, wariness and confusion and hurt in her eyes, not understanding what had happened. I/He was so proud of the way she confronted me/him, even as I/he tried to convince her that I/he was still the Doctor. And for one terrible, hearts-stopping moment, I/he thought she was going to leave. _

Flash.

"_And what about you? What are you going to do next?" Rose asked me/him warily. She brushed some ash off her coat, not willing to look me/him in the eye. _

"_Well," I/he said casually, "back to the TARDIS. Same old life." I/He suddenly couldn't swallow. There was a pounding in my/his ears as both my/his hearts raced wildly. Come-with-me-come-with-me-come-with-me they seemed to beat. _

"_On your own?" she asked, looking at me/him. _

_I/he couldn't breathe. "Why, don't you want to come?" I/he asked, striving – and failing – to be casual. _

"_Yeah," she answered quickly, and my/his world could have exploded and I/he wouldn't have noticed, because she wanted to be with me/him._

Flash.

_She was laughing as we/they laid in the grass on New New Earth, the wind blowing her hair, a picture I/he'd always remember._

Flash.

"_...but this, no, this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?" _

_My/his heart broke at the question. How could I/he ever do that to Rose? To the woman I/he had fallen in love with almost the first time I/he saw her? "No. Not to you," I/he answered firmly. _

_She pressed me/him, wanting to know why I/he had never mentioned Sarah Jane, and I/he tried to explain. The words almost escaped my/his mouth. "Imagine watching that happened to someone you-"_

_But they didn't. Not that night, anyway._

Flash.

_She had her face back, her beautiful, beautiful face that I/he was afraid I/he would never see again. And I/he couldn't help my/himself; as soon as we/they had gotten back to the TARDIS, holding hands, I/he had stopped her, and slowly, gently, given her face soft kisses. Cheeks, chin, nose, eyelids, softly-brushed lips touched every inch of her beautiful face. And then, when only one thing remained, I/he gently brushed her lips. And she responded, bringing her arms around my/his neck, drawing me/him closer, and I/he was holding her, and I/he slipped my/his hand around her waist, drawing her closer, and she brought her hands under my/his jacket, burrowing them under my/his shirt, and-_

WHAM! I slammed down the equivalent of a mental brick wall. I could see where this was going, and I would rather not watch that, thank you very much.

The Doctor jerked. "Sorry," he said, giving me a bit of a smile. "Let's just suffice it to say, it continued from there."

I looked at him. "I don't think you handle the concept of TMI well, do you?" I asked, knowing it was a rhetorical question.

I managed to get a full out grin this time. "Sorry," he repeated. He picked up my hand again.

_I/he knew she was pregnant before she did. And it was wonderful, and it was terrifying, and it made me/him love her even more, and it made me/him more scared than anything that had ever happened before._

_But I/he waited for her to find out on her own, and when she came to me/him, tears streaming down her cheeks, I/he took her in my/his arms, and held her closely, and whispered in her ear, "I know, Rose."_

_This promptly earned me/him a slap across the face. _

"_WHAT DO YOU BLOODY MEAN YOU KNOW?!" Rose screeched. I/he cowered in deference and realized that it probably wasn't the smartest thing I/he'd ever done, not telling her she was pregnant. _

Flash.

_We/they laid in bed, spooned together, and my/his eyes were closed as I/he ran my/his hand over the smooth, rounded surface of her belly, slipping it underneath the loose shirt she wore to feel the bare skin. If I/he pressed in just the right spot, I/he could feel my/their daughter's head. This usually earned me/him an irritated look from Rose, and a protest that I/he was making the baby kick. _

_But now she turned to me/him, hiding her head in my/his chest. "What are we going to do?" she sobbed. "It's too dangerous, and you're going mad just trapped here while I'm pregnant." _

_I/he rubbed her back and tried to sooth her. "No, no, Rose, it's all right," I/he whispered to her, pressing a soft kiss just above her ear, even though I/he knew it was a lie. "It's going to be all right."_

Flash.

"_YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" Rose screamed. I/he just grinned at her. "She's almost here, Rose, I've got her head!" I/he encouraged her. She lay back, gasping for air, before finally, with a phenomenal effort, she pushed and the baby came sliding out. I/he caught her, and quickly cauterized the umbilical cord, using a supreme amount of concentration to keep my/his fingers from trembling as I/he beheld the screaming, red, absolutely gorgeous little miniature produced by Rose and my/himself. With tender hands, cursing them for their size and lack of finesse, I/he laid her on the waiting blanket and wrapped her up. Rose, despite her exhaustion, was looking at me/him with interest. "Give her to me!" she demanded, and I/he was about to when she took a sharp breath. "I thought it was over!" she said through gritted teeth. _

_I/he peered at her. "Er, no, that would be the placenta now," I/he said as brightly as I could. The look she gave me/him made me/him grateful I/he still had some regenerations left, because I/he thought she might kill me/him when she had finished with the whole "delivering a baby" scheme. _

Flash.

_She was so beautiful; both of them were. I/he pulled a camera from my/his pocket and took a picture as she nursed our/their daughter. Her hair was piled into a messy bun, she had dark circles under her eyes to rival a raccoon, and the robe she wore was almost slipping from her shoulders, and she had never, ever, been so stunningly breathtaking to me/him as she was now. _

_But her eyes, when she looked at me/him, were full of horrible sorrow. "We...we need to do it," she said, her voice cracking. Tears began to stream down her face. _

"_Are you sure?" I/he asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. _

_She nodded her head. "This isn't the sort of life she should have," she said sadly, voice catching in her throat. Their daughter's sucking was almost automatic now as she fell asleep. Rose lifted her to her shoulder and rubbed her back gently. "She needs a home, and parents who'll adore her, and to grow up without the constant threat of danger. The TARDIS isn't a place to raise a child." Rose's voice broke as she finished the sentence. My/his eyes filled with tears as she began to sob. "All right," I/he said, forcing the words past the lump in my/his throat. "I'll take care of it."_

_She looked at me/him. "And...and you're sure I won't remember it?" she asked. I/he nodded, laying a hand softly on her cheek. "You won't remember a thing. The memories will still be there, but they'll be locked away, and they should never reemerge," I/he said softly._

_She nodded. "All right," she sniffed. She gently lifted her daughter from her shoulder and placed her on a blanket lying on the bed. The infant, in a pink fleecy jumper, was too fast asleep to notice anything. She bent over and kissed her cheek, laying her own against it softly. "I love you, Emily," she said softly, her voice catching. _

_I/he laid a hand gently alongside Rose's face. "You won't remember a thing," I/he said softly._

"_But what about you?" she asked, her eyes seeking mine/his. _

_I/he gave a sorrow-filled smile. "I don't count." And with that, I/he sent her into a dark unconsciousness, removing every memory from the last nine months and locking them, far, far, far back, into the depths of her subconscious. _

A/N: Five pages (within sight of six) and over 2000 words (let's just put it in perspective; the word count according to FFN prior to this was 9,146 for the first eleven chapters!). It's taken me over an hour. It's nearly midnight. I've been going since 7:00 this morning, I'm still adjusting to Daylight Savings, and I've got to get a shower and be up at 8:30 tomorrow. So please forgive me for leaving it there. I'll try to finish this part out tomorrow. The story itself should be done before I leave for England in eleven days. That's my goal, anyway.


	13. Conversation

Emily Rose

Chapter 13: Conversation

By Kate Carter

Flash.

_I/he wrapped the infant in a soft blanket, purchased in the year 32,787 on the fifth moon of Swenibrel. I/he took a second to hold her close to me/him, savoring the soft baby scent and the way she unconsciously nestled into my/his chest. With a quick brush against her mind to make sure that she would stay asleep, I/he bundled her into a car seat, pain stabbing my/his heart at this simple act that any parent would do, but was the only time I/he would ever do so. _

_I/he took out some paper and wrote out a note, nestling it next to her. I/he took one last chance to softly kiss her cheek, I/he locked my/his emotions away. Parking the TARDIS outside the hospital, I/he picked up the carrier and carried her out. The weather was beautiful; I/he had chosen this place for that reason. I/he set the carrier down outside the hospital's emergency entrance; someone would find her soon. _

_I/he turned back and walked into the TARDIS. _

"I was going to tell you when you turned twenty. You would have started developing most of your psychic abilities and extra senses soon after that. But I needed to find some time when Rose wasn't with me. I was going to leave her when she visited her mother in London, tell her I had to go pick up some spare parts, but..." he drifted off.

"What happened?" I pressed quietly.

"Do you remember the ghosts?" he said, nearly whispering. "And how they turned out to be metal men who tried to take over the world?"

"Yeah." I repressed a shudder; that had terrified me, even though there weren't nearly as many in San Francisco as there were in New York, London, Tokyo, and other major cities in the world.

"We defeated them. We sucked them into the Void, the space between universes. But anyone who had crossed to another universe was in danger of being sucked into it as well, and Rose and I both had. We were holding the levers, we had to, until they were all sucked in and we could shut the hole between the universes. But she lost her grip and began to fall. Her father – well, her father in this universe had died, but her father in the parallel universe – he came through the Void and caught her, at just the right time."

"And you never saw her again?" I asked softly. My heart was breaking for him. It was so sad and tragic.

"Only to say goodbye," he said. He picked up my hand one more time.

_The wind blew across the beach, but I/he couldn't feel it, standing in the TARDIS. She was so beautiful, my/his sad, brave, gorgeous Rose. It was funny, I/he had dreamed of this for months, but now, I/he didn't know what to say. I/he glanced towards the small group standing further up on the beach. "So you've still got Mr. Mickey, then?" I/he said, trying to be cheerful. _

_Her smile was heartbreaking. "There's five of us now; me, Mum, Dad, Mickey...and the baby." _

_My/his hearts seemed to stop. "You're not?" Was she going to go through it again, by herself?_

_She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. And despite the words she said, I/he didn't believe her._

I looked at him, and I couldn't help it; my eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'm so sorry."

"I still planned to tell you, but after I lost her, I just...I couldn't. It hurt too much."

"I understand," I said, and I did. The pain was radiating off of him...literally? "Um, I don't mean to change to a really weird subject, but...there are blue-gray streaks coming off of you."

The Doctor smiled, and the streaks took on a light orange-pink that made me think of amusement. "It's a Time Lord sense. You would have started getting them gradually about two months after your twentieth birthday, but regeneration caused it to happen sooner."

"So it's just going to keep getting worse?" A thought occurred to me. "Is that why I'm feeling fine even though I've gotten six hours of sleep in the last seventy-two?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yep," he said, popping the "p." "You're going to need less sleep from now on. I don't know how it's going to be with you, because you're three-quarters human, but I only need a couple of hours a week."

I sighed. "There's going to be a lot of stuff to get used to, huh?" I said wistfully, thinking of times when life was simpler; I slept eight hours a night, had just five senses, and couldn't change what I looked like.

"Oh, more things than you could imagine," the Doctor said. He was grinning, and the streaks were now yellow, although there was still a bit of the blue-gray. I had a feeling it never really left him. "There's only one thing to do."

"And what's that?" I asked.

The streaks took on a gray-green color. "You could travel with me."

I looked at him, and I slowly began to smile. "Yeah," I said simply.

"Yeah?" he repeated. The streaks were yellow again.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, grinning. "Sounds good."

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up and is so short! I leave for England and Ireland in a week, so I'm going to try to wrap this up as quickly as possible. We're nearly there, I think there's probably going to be two to three chapters and an epilogue.


	14. Endings and Beginnings

Emily Rose

Chapter 14: Endings and Beginnings

By Kate Carter

A/N: Long overdue, for which I apologize. England and Ireland were great. I really wish I'd had some Whovians with me, so I could have gone to the exhibit in London. My hotel was only a couple miles from Canary Wharf. No one understood why I was excited about this. And I bought a sonic screwdriver!...replica. Still fun though.

Last chapter for this story, I think. Of course, there's far more that's going to happen; they have to get Rose back still. But because there is so much more, I'm thinking it's going to be a whole different story.

There's not too much to say after that. The Doctor and I popped out of the TARDIS, and said goodbye and thanks to Martha and Jack. I had all the belongings I really cared about with me, but we went to my family to tell them I was traveling with the Doctor (turned out the Doctor missed the coordinates slightly, we wound up there a week later, and they were all frantic because they hadn't heard from me in a week) (when the Doctor saw this, he just shook his head and said "Thank goodness it was only a week." Then he leaned over and asked, "Does your mother have a tendency to slap people?" He's really strange like that sometimes...). Mom didn't like the idea at all; I had to convince her it was like me going to college out of state. I'd come home for holidays, or at least, I'd try.

The Doctor convinced them that I would be safe, and even if something did happen, I'd regenerate (I don't think this helped them feel any better). With a few more hugs and tears (I wasn't exactly dry-eyed myself, I admit), I hopped into the TARDIS and into my new life.

And it was awesome. It was a bit of a struggle at first, getting used to the new senses. Suddenly, I could read much quicker than I could before. My reflexes were better. I was sleeping four hours a week (the Doctor frowned a bit at this, and said it must be because I'm three-quarters human). I was making fast progress on learning the complicated Gallifreyan language. And French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Mookimookimoomoo and a few others. It was awesome.

And traveling in the TARDIS? WOW. We went ahead to the year 56,256 and saved a city on one of Jupiter's moons from being destroyed. We went back to 1574 and totally P.O.ed Queen Elizabeth I (the Doctor said he knew it was going to happen at some point, since she'd been so mad when he'd met Shakespeare...I'm sure there's a story there). Each day was a new destination, a new time, a new world.

But throughout all of it, he never mentioned Rose.

Oh, I knew it was a painful subject. But every time I tried to bring it up, he'd change the subject. And the blue-gray waves would increase. So I left it alone.

But one night, the TARDIS whispered to me. "Emily, I can show you Rose's room," she said gently.

"You can?" I asked in surprise. The TARDIS talked to me on a regular basis, but this was an unexpected offer. "Why haven't you offered before?" I asked, not upset, but curious.

"I loved Rose too," the TARDIS said sadly. "And even though she was a human, and we could only communicate on the most basic of levels, she loved me. And when she was trapped, well, the Doctor was not the only one with a broken heart."

"Hearts," I said softly.

"Heart. Because Rose took one of his with her. And the other one is broken." I felt the TARDIS sigh. "I wish you'd known him when he was younger. Before the Time War. He was a broken man after that, and Rose healed him. When she was trapped...well, I had never seen him like that."

I sighed and was silent for a moment. "Can I see her room now, please?" I asked softly. The TARDIS hummed and a door appeared in the wall.

Hesitantly, I walked over and opened it.

The first thing to hit me was the pink. Now, I've never been a fan of pink, but it's obvious that Rose was. It was everywhere.

And so were the pictures. They cluttered the bedside table, they hung on the walls. The pretty blond-haired girl in most of them was obviously Rose.

I looked at them, picking one up occasionally to examine it better. "Who's this?" I sent the TARDIS the image of the tall man with big ears and a leather jacket.

"The Doctor's ninth body," she told me.

"And this?" A young black man, his arm around Rose, with a big grin.

"Mickey Smith, one of her best friends. They were dating until she came with us."

"And this?" A middle-aged blond woman, who I guessed was Rose's mother due to the resemblance.

"Jackie Tyler, Rose's mother," the TARDIS told me, confirming my guess. "She slapped the Doctor once, he meant to bring Rose home twelve hours after he'd met her, but he left it on the wrong setting, so it wound up being twelve months."

"Oh my." Yeah, I couldn't blame her for slapping him.

I spent several hours in Rose's room, looking at what the young woman my own age – my mother - had treasured, and the TARDIS told me stories about her and the Doctor and the times they'd shared.

Finally I sighed, sitting on the bed that was still unmade, as she'd left it. "There's got to be some way to get her back."

"There is no way," the TARDIS told me sadly. "If there were more Time Lords, perhaps, but..." A sudden burst of excitement from her almost overwhelmed me; I wasn't used to such things yet. "There are!" she said. I could sense it all coming from her. "There's you!"

"Yeah, but I don't know anything about it..." I said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to help, but I'm new to all the Time Lord stuff."

"Doesn't matter. Go to the library," the TARDIS ordered. I shrugged and walked over to the door. The door opened to the library now, which didn't really surprise me.

"Fifteenth bookcase on the right, left side, third shelf from the top, sixth book over," the TARDIS instructed. Mystified, I got the book she told me. It was written in old Gallifreyan, and I couldn't make much out, but I got enough to understand it was about manipulating the universes.

I began to get excited myself. "Maybe," I said, "just maybe, it's actually possible for us to rescue Rose."

THE END of "Emily Rose"

Thank you for reading this story! Keep an eye out for the next one, should be starting up in the next week or so (I hope!).


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